Men From His Past
by xxjmm96xx
Summary: After shift one day, Sam gets captured. Team 1 works frantically to save their team member. Sam finds out who is holding him captive and it turns out the ties are closer than he thought. Jules may risk her life to save Sam's, before it's too late.
1. Secrets

_**So, here goes my second shot at a Sam and Jules fic. I liked the other one, but it kind of fell off my radar and I might not continue it. I think you guys will like this one much better anyway.**_

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><p>Jules sat on the closed toilet seat cover, unable to look at the little white stick in front of her.<p>

How could something so insignificant tell her what was going to happen in her future, she wondered as she sat there, trying to work up the nerve to read it.

She jumped when the bathroom door swung open.

"You okay?" Sam asked, full of concern. "You've been in here a while, I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Jules hid the pregnancy test behind her back with one hand.

"Geez, don't you knock?" she demanded, irritably.

"Sorry?" Sam said it as a question. "It's not like you have anything I haven't seen before," he told her with eyebrows raised.

Jules just stared at him. It was true, she had been staying at his house for quite some time now and she usually wouldn't act like this. Sam knew her well, sometimes better than she knew herself and he would know something was up.

Sam folded his arms across his chest and looked at her expectantly.

"I'm fine," she stammered out. "I was just uh…taking a shower."

Sam looked at her fully clothed body and dry hair. "Yeah I can see that," he said sarcastically. "Now why don't you tell me what's really going on?" he asked her.

He came farther into the bathroom and crouched down in front of her, cupping her face in his hand. "You don't have to lie to me," he told her.

She sighed. Of course, she knew this. And she wasn't sure why she was hiding something so big from him, considering it involved him, too.

She stared into the bright blue eyes of the man she loved who had such concern for her. He just wanted to help. Only this time, he couldn't.

She opened her mouth to tell him, and then shut it. "I'm okay. Really," she insisted.

Sam stared at her for a couple beats longer, and then stood up. "Okay," he conceded. "Tell me when you're ready." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and then made his way out of the bathroom, shutting the door tightly behind him.

Jules took a deep breath, finally getting enough resolve to look at the results. She looked down at the test.

It was a second later that Sam was banging on the door.

"Come on, Jules! We have a hot call."

Jules tossed the stick in the trash, wanting to put it all behind her. She would have to find some way to tell Sam about it tonight.

She rushed out the door to follow Sam, ready for the call.

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><p><strong><em>Any thoughts? You think Jules is pregnant or what? Let me know what you think by pressing that button below :) <em>**


	2. He's Missing

Sam was distracted.

He had managed to keep a cool head throughout the whole hostage situation call, but now that they were finished, he was free to think about what had happened with Jules this morning.

She was hiding something from him, and he had no clue why. He had never given Jules a reason not to trust him, so this must be a big deal.

"Samtastic…Sam…SAM!" Spike called him for what seemed like the millionth time.

Sam pulled himself back to the present. "Sorry, Spike, I spaced."

"I'll say," Ed said. "Everything okay?" As the team leader and a friend, he liked to know these things.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm good," he told them all. He wasn't sure if he convinced them, but he simply just shut his locker door and waved goodbye to the guys as he made his way out, looking for Jules.

He knocked on the Jules' locker room door but found no answer. He pushed his way in, thinking she may have just been in the shower and didn't hear his knock. But the water wasn't running.

Sam spun around, wondering where she could have gone. He checked his phone, but found no indication that Jules had tried to contact him.

He figured she must have been waiting at the car. After a lot of needling, he was able to convince her that they could carpool to work.

He shrugged and made his way out of the building.

It was dark and the one street light that was there cast eerie shadows across the back parking lot.

Sam didn't even see them coming.

He heard the slight crunch of footsteps behind him and he froze, straining his ears. He whipped around, scanning the apparent vacant lot.

His eyes narrowed, his instincts still telling him something was off. He surveyed the place for a few more minutes, and then turned around, moving for his car.

He unlocked the doors, noticing that Jules wasn't sitting in the passenger seat. He was planning to climb into the car and call Jules to see where she was, and that's when they got him.

They jumped him from behind, just as his hand was reaching for the car door handle, causing him to drop his keys from the pavement.

He could tell there was more than one guy, even though they stayed behind him, shouting whispered orders to each other.

Two of them grabbed his arms on either side, and one of them punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

He saw someone step in front of him, but couldn't see his face. He could barely lift his head up enough from the pavement to see the guy's torso.

Sam saw the guy move forward, and as much as he was struggling to get out of the men's tight grip, it was no use.

The guy swung something forward and Sam felt a sharp pain in his head.

A moment later, darkness swam up to meet him.

* * *

><p>"Hey guys," Jules called as the guys filed out of the locker room. But one face was missing.<p>

"Where's Sam?" she questioned them.

They looked at each other and shrugged.

"He left not too long ago," Wordy supplied helpfully.

"We assumed he went looking for you," Spike added.

Though their relationship was technically still under wraps, Jules suspected that everyone else on the team noticed they were together, and this confirmed it.

She had finished changing early and went to go see the boss in the conference room. They were just talking and she lost track of time and now Sam wasn't here, waiting for her.

"Thanks guys," she said, and began to scour the place looking for him. She looked in her locker room and the weight room, but found no sign of him. She even tried his cell; no answer.

She wandered outside, wondering how it got so dark so fast.

His car was still parked where it had been this morning, and she thought maybe he was waiting for inside the car.

She went to the driver's side and cupping her hands, looked in the tinted windows. He wasn't there.

"Huh," she said to herself, stepping back. _Where could he be? _

She stepped back, planning on going back inside to see if he would turn up when she felt her foot kick something, sending it skittering a couple of feet away on the pavement.

She went over, bent down and picked it up. They were Sam's car keys.

Jules got a horrible feeling in her gut. Something was wrong, she could tell.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and looked around the rest of the car, seeing if she could find anything. If Sam was playing some kind of sick joke, he would be sorry.

It was then that she found it; Sam's cell phone by the wheel of his car. The front of it was cracked, like someone through it down on the ground.

Jules breathing grew panicked as she rushed back inside the SRU building.

She ran right into the guys, who hadn't left yet.

"Something's wrong with Sam; he's missing." she told them, frantically. She held up the keys and phone. "His car was still in the lot."

They all stood there in shock, processing the information.

Ed was the first to take charge, as usual. "Come on, suit up," he commanded.

Spike went to follow the rest of them in the locker room to change, but he turned back and went to Jules.

He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find him."

"Thanks Spike," she whispered and they each went their separate ways.

Jules flung open her locker, her eyes immediately rested on the picture she kept there of her and Sam.

"Don't worry Sam, we're coming," she said, slamming the locker door and cursing whoever did this to Sam.

She was ready to jump into action and she jumped in the truck with Ed, who was driving.

"Can you stay objective?" Ed asked as they were patrolling the streets, looking for clues.

"Are you serious?" Jules protested.

"Can you stay objective?" Ed repeated.

"Yes," she told him firmly. "I can."

"Good," he said, as they sped on.

All Jules could focus on was finding him…before it was too late.

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><p><strong><em>Hope this holds you over. Sorry for the cliffhanger, haha. I'll try and update as fast as I can, but I'm also focusing on my Rookie Blue stories, and this was just a spur of the moment thing. But don't give up yet. Who knows, I may have another chapter as soon as tomorrow! I hope you liked it so far anyway. <em>**

**_xoxo  
>Janelle<em>**


	3. Patch Him Through

Sam regained consciousness, but the goons who grabbed him didn't know that. Sam still had enough sense in him to not alert the men to his awareness, that way he could listen to them.

His head was killing him, slightly above the temple where they hit him. He had no clue what they had hit him with, but it sure the hell had suited its purpose.

Without opening his eyes, he opened up his other senses, wondering where he was. A slight pressure on his right wrist told him he was bound there, but he didn't think they held him down anywhere else. The sharp sting when he moved his wrist told them they were handcuffs.

He could feel himself sitting up, leaning against something, but he couldn't tell much else. He decided to tune into the men's conversation.

"….he'll be out for a while…hit him pretty hard…"

"I can't believe we did this!" one guy hissed. "I should have never gotten involved in this."

_Good,_ Sam noted. _At least one of them had a conscious._ That might be his only hope, if Team 1 didn't reach him.

"Then why did you? I always knew you were weak." Back to the first guy talking.

As far as Sam could tell, there were only two men in the room with him right now, but he knew for a fact that there were more. They were probably just keeping an eye on him, waiting to tell their higher ups when he woke up.

"Come on, let's take a walk, so I can explain to you all the reasons why you're a spineless freak," the first man sneered, leading the other one out the door.

It was then that Sam finally let his eyes flutter open. He had to blink a few times to clear his vision, and he was slightly dizzy. He probably had a concussion, but he couldn't bother with that now. He needed to get out of here, though he was curious as to how these people were and why they took him of all people.

Sam looked to the side and saw that his hand was actually handcuffed to a metal rod. He also realized it was cool and damp wherever he was and he deduced he was probably underground, somewhere like a basement.

If he jiggled his wrist the right way, he was able to stand up, albeit a little unsteady on his feet.

He peered around the room, which was only lit by a single bulb in the center of the ceiling.

He saw a table a couple of feet away, where he assumed the men had been sitting only moments before. He scanned the table quickly for anything he might use to help him get out of this mess.

There, on the far side of the table sat a cell phone. How could he have gotten so lucky?

He reached out to grab it, but was roughly yanked back into place by the pipe he was secured to. Stretching his arm out as much as it would go, Sam lengthened his body and reached out with his left hand, closing his eyes as he searched blindly to grab it.

And finally, his fingertips brushed the plastic of the phone just enough so that he could slide it into his palm and resume his sitting position, all without alerting anyone.

He praised himself on a job well done and flipped the phone open, quickly dialing 911.

_911, what's your emergency? _

"I need you to patch me to Greg Parker," he said, in a low but steady tone. He kept his eyes on the door. His skin crawled as he expected someone to come in as he waited to hear his boss' voice.

* * *

><p>"Do you have any idea who might take him?"Ed asked Jules.<p>

They had been driving around for almost a half an hour, looking for any sign of Sam, but they found nothing. They had gone to his place; also a dead end. It was like he just vanished without a trace.

Jules wracked her brain but came up with nothing. "No," she said, shaking her head. She was trying to be strong, but she had a lump permanently lodged in her throat as she thought about what Sam might be going through right now.

Greg could tell Jules was getting antsy; they were all worried about Sam. He was just about to say some comforting words over their earpieces when a call from Winnie came through.

"What do you have, Winnie?" Greg demanded.

"A 911 dispatcher just said a Sam Braddock phoned in, asked to be patched to you."

Jules heart leapt with hope. Sam was smart, he would lead them straight to him and everything would be okay.

"Patch him through," Greg said, trying not to sound too eager.

"Sam? Where are you buddy, what happened?"Greg questioned, and then sat back, letting him do the talking. "Spike, make sure you're tracing this call," he commanded.

"Way ahead of you boss," Spike answered.

They all quieted to hear Sam's response.

"I don't know where…basement maybe…don't know why…" Sam's voice crackled over the speakers, cutting in and out.

"That's good, that's good," Greg said. "What else can you give us?"

"Nothing really…they knocked me out…parking lot." His voice was growing fuzzy.

"Okay, don't worry Sam. We're going to come find you. I just need you to stay on the line. The longer you do, the easier it is for Spike to pinpoint your exact location," Greg explained calmly, then he heard a commotion through the headset.

"Sam, Sam what's going on?" Greg asked.

Angry voices filled the phone, and then an audible thud resounded in their ears. Then, the line went dead.

"Sam, Sam?" Greg repeated his name and got no answer. "Damn," he cursed. "Spike?" he questioned.

"All I needed was a few more seconds. I could only narrow it down to the nearest ten block radius." Spike had felt like he failed his friend and his Team. Just a few more seconds…

Greg could tell Spike was going hard on himself. "You did great, Spike. Let's go patrol that neighborhood, look for any suspicious activity."

To the rest of the Team, but mostly Jules, he said, "We're going to go get our boy and bring him home."

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><p><strong><em>If you liked it or have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment! :) <em>**


	4. Got Something

_**Sorry it took so long, guys. I just completed one of my other stories, so I should have plenty of time to update this one. Let's hope the ideas keep flowing ;) **_

_**Oh and I'm seriously unhappy with the fact that Wordy's gone. So he is definitely still in this story.**_

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><p>"Police SRU, open the door, do it now!" Ed called out.<p>

A few seconds later the door was pulled open and a nervous looking woman opened the door, a small child hiding, scared, behind her legs.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"We just need to have a look around ma'am," Ed reassured her and she pulled the door open to allow them to pass.

"What's going on?" she said, looking to Greg who stood by her, listening for updates from Spike who was fiddling around with the phone call in the truck.

"There's been a kidnapping and we just have to check around," Greg said, flashing a smile to calm her as she picked up her little child who was sucking on his thumb.

"Are we safe?" she asked with a little gasp.

Greg hesitated before answering. "You should be. We believe it was a targeted affair," he said, but she never lost the worried look on her face.

"It's clean," Ed said, and with that, Greg thanked the woman and they all filed outside.

Another dead end.

After searching half of the 10 block guideline, they had managed to worry a bunch of innocent people and still found nothing.

Jules was starting to panic and it was setting her on edge.

All she could do was replay what had happened between her and Sam this morning and she could see his face, feel his touch. It was like she was memorizing him just in case she didn't see him again.

She also couldn't help but feel that this was somehow her fault. She could tell that he was distracted from what had happened this morning. She wished she had just told him, because then maybe he wouldn't be gone.

She rattled the fence of the house they had just vacated in frustration and leaned on it, burying her face in her hands, trying her hardest to hold back tears.

Jules felt a hand on her back and she lifted her red rimmed eyes to meet Greg's.

"I don't know what to do," she said helplessly. "What we're doing isn't working, Sarge."

"I know," he soothed. "But we _are_ doing everything we can with the information we have." Greg was still trying to be objective, but it was hard. Someone had disrupted their little family and there was going to be hell to pay.

Wordy and Ed came closer, closing ranks around her and giving her some of the strength she needed. It helped her not break down. She knew that Sam would need her to be strong right now.

Jules sniffled and pulled back just as Spike spoke over the headset.

"Hey guys, I think I've got something."

Jules couldn't get to the truck fast enough and the rest of the team followed suit. Spike was sitting facing some screens, fiddling with the keyboards in front of him. "What have you got Spike?" Greg asked.

"Well, while I didn't get the exact coordinates of where the phone call came from, I easily was able to trace whose cell phone the call came from." Spike pulled up a photo on one of the screens. "Cameron Frate."

"Way to go, Spike," Wordy said, clapping Spike on the back.

"What else does the file say?" Ed questioned.

"Not much," Spike admitted. "He was in the military and was discharged a couple of months ago. He lives not too far from here." He looked up at the boss, expecting his next order.

"Ed, Wordy, I want you two to go check out the house, see what you can find out from there. Spike, see what else you can pull up on this guy, any other connections that could potentially lead us to Sam. Jules and I are going to keep patrolling."

"Yes, boss," they chorused. Jules knew that the boss was just trying to keep her busy and for once, she didn't protest.

* * *

><p>Sam groaned, leaned over and spit blood and saliva onto the floor.<p>

Once the goons had found the phone, they hadn't been too happy and proceeded to beat the crap out of him once more. They were going to be more careful now about leaving things around that he could use to escape.

He wondered if he had been on the phone long enough to have Spike trace a call. He certainly hoped so; he didn't want to be stuck here anymore then he had to. He had put up quite a fight trying to keep the phone from being disconnected. He was pretty sure his wrist was sprained, but he fought through the pain and nausea that came with it.

He listened intently to see if he could pick up anything, but an odd silence met his ears.

He finally relaxed, leaning heavily into the wall. There was seemingly no way out at the moment, so he was going to sit tight and wait for Team 1 to get there.

Sitting still was not really something Sam was good at, and he found himself immersed in his thoughts.

Who were these people and what did they want from him? They must know him from somewhere; why else would they wait for him outside of the SRU?

Without meaning to, his thoughts took a personal turn.

Where was Jules? Was she okay? He hoped she wasn't too worried. He wished he could be there to comfort her. And like earlier, his thoughts wandered to the scene in the bathroom that morning. Had it only been that morning? It seemed like centuries had passed.

He sighed, focusing on the pain in an effort to drive it from his body. It was an old military trick that they had used. He didn't think it actually worked, but at least he was thinking about something that wouldn't make him go crazy.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths when suddenly he heard a door scratch open. It echoed in the previous silence.

Sam's eyes shot open, searching through the dark at who was coming down the stairs. The light from behind the figure approaching him kept his face hidden in the shadows and it wasn't until he was right in front of him that Sam recognized him.

"Mr. Holloway?"

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><p><em><strong>So, who is this Mr. Holloway and what does he want with our precious Sam? Any thoughts? Already starting the next chapter, so you'll find out who he is soon enough. <strong>_


	5. Too Far Gone

Ed and Wordy received no answer from the door they had knocked on and so they proceeded to batter their way into Cameron Frate's little house.

Guns drawn, they slowly crept through, making sure the house was clear before relaxing their stance and sweeping the house, this time for clues instead of gunmen or kidnappers.

There wasn't much. As far as they could tell the guy lived alone; no wife, girlfriend or kids. It was all neat and tidy. There weren't many pictures, but the ones that were scarce around the house were of men in military uniforms.

Wordy picked one of the pictures up, recognizing a few of the men in there. Sam was there, on the left and Cameron Frate was all the way on the right. Two other men were in the middle. The one next to Sam looked vaguely familiar.

Wordy took out his phone and snapped a picture while Ed perused the rest of the house for anything useful.

"Hey, Spike, I'm sending something your way."

Back in the truck, Spike received Wordy's picture and pulled it up on a screen just as Jules and Greg came back in.

"What's that?" Jules asked, squinting at the picture. Her heart tightened when she saw Sam standing there, looking sharp in his military issued uniform and haircut.

"Wordy sent this over from the Frate house. I'm looking for identification now," he said, as the pictures went through the database.

"Sam's on the left, Frate's all the way to the right." Spike paused, tilting his head to the side. "Who's that guy?" he asked, jabbing a finger at the figure next to Sam. "He looks so familiar…"

"Oh my God," Jules said. "That's Matt. Matt Holloway."

"Matt? The one Sam shot while he was in JTF?" Spike asked.

"Accidentally shot," Greg felt the need to add and pretended not to notice when Spike's face turned red.

"But what does that have to do with Sam being kidnapped?" Jules asked, not piecing it together.

Just then, the computer let out a soft beep, indicating that it had a match on their mystery man in the picture.

Spike pulled up the profile. "Nathan Holloway," he read.

"Holloway. As in…" Greg started.

"Father of Matt," Jules finished.

"Crap," Spike couldn't help it. "This isn't good."

Greg shot Spike a look and then contacted Ed and Wordy over their headsets. "Come on back guys. We've got what we need."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>: _

"_Hey man," Sam said, plopping down beside Matt, one of his best friends on the JTF squad. "Rough day." _

"_Yeah," Matt agreed, leaning back on his pillow, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. _

_It was a time where they could just relax; a time that didn't come around often. Sam took the opportunity to take out a piece of paper and a pen; he hadn't written his mother or Nat in a while. _

"_Who are you writing to?" Matt yawned. _

"_Just my mother and sister," Sam said. "You have anybody to write to back home?" _

"_It's just my dad and we don't talk much," Matt mumbled. "He didn't really approve of me going into the military." Sam could see he was uncomfortable and decided to try and make him feel better by talking about his own dad. _

"_Well, you know my father. The big General and whatnot." _

_In fact, if it hadn't been for the pressure his father was putting on him, Sam might not even be in the military. He was barely out of high school, fresh and 20 years old, which is probably why he felt so close to Matt, who was only a year older._

_They fell into a comfortable silence. _

"_Want to play a game of poker?" Matt requested. _

"_Sure," Sam said, conceding that his letter could be finished some other time. He hopped off his cot and sat on the floor in front of Matt. "Let's say loser has to take the cot next to Henry," he smirked._

_Henry was an older man on the squad who always reeked of nasty smells that no one could place. He also snored terribly. _

"_Oh, you're on," Matt said, shuffling the cards sharply._

_And just like that, all their troubles were solved. Just by one simple hand of poker. _

_**Present Day**: _

It was memories like that that still stood out in Sam's mind. Simple memories that showed how close that he and Matt would grow.

And it still hurt to this day to think about them.

He shook his head and tried to focus on the man in front of him. Nathan Holloway; Matt's father. But all that was swirling around in his head were thoughts and memories of his best friend.

"You remember me, don't you Sam?" Nathan said, kneeling down in front of Sam.

Sam said nothing. He wasn't sure if he remembered how to speak.

Nathan reached over and grabbed Sam's chin roughly, forcing him to meet his eye. "Don't you?"

Sam slowly shook his head, still fighting with the flood of emotion that was coursing through his body._ Come on Matt, why'd you have to die? Why did I have to be the one that shot you? _

"That's right, Sam. I'm the father of the man you shot and killed!" he snarled, his voice raising. Specks of spit flew from his lips and landed on Sam and he resisted the urge to shudder.

This guy was nothing like Matt; couldn't be if this was what he had resorted to.

Sam raised his eyes, which he met with a hard stare similar to the one in Nate's eyes. Except Nate had another look in his eyes; a one that Sam had seen often on other calls. It was of a man who was too far gone.

"I was cleared to fire. Matt wasn't supposed to be anywhere near there," Sam said which was the God's honest truth. But for some reason the words rang hollow in his ears.

Nate froze for a second, glaring at Sam. "You think that makes it okay?" Nate sneered.

"No I-,"

"Enough," Nate roared. "I don't want to listen to your lies." He stood up and paced around in front of Sam. "You know why you're here don't you?"

When Sam didn't answer, Nate turned to him, some sick laughter in his voice. "You killed my son, and you aren't leaving here alive."

With that, Nate left, his eerie laughter haunting Sam even after the door closed, leaving him locked in the basement, alone once more.

* * *

><p><em><strong>So, I'm sure you all remember Matt; Sam's buddy whom he accidentally shot. They never gave us Matt's last name, so I just made up Holloway as a last name. <strong>_

_**Sorry it took a little longer to post. It's going to get harder to post quickly because it's the last week before school starts, so it's going to get a little busy. I'm sure most of you understand my plight, so don't give up on me! I'll update as soon as possible :) **_


	6. Putting Names To Faces

_**Hey guys. I know you all have been expecting an update, and I'm sorry it took so long. I know this might be a little short, but I wanted to get something up for you guys to read. The next chapter will be coming within a couple of days. Happy reading!**_

* * *

><p>Usually Sam didn't get nervous. But if he had the ability to pace around his temporary prison he would have. Pacing always helped him think, and right now he needed a clear head.<p>

He was trying to process everything he had just found out. He decided to go over the facts. Try and stay objective like he did on the job, or he might just crack.

Matt was his best friend, who he accidentally shot and killed. Now his father wanted revenge for his son's unjust death. But as far as Sam knew, Matt and his father weren't on speaking terms.

Sam dropped his face into his free hand. This was all so frustrating. He hoped Team 1 was on their way. He couldn't be trapped in this basement with his past haunting him much longer…

His thoughts were interrupted as a pounding of boots came crashing down the stairs.

Sam watched open mouthed as men from his past lined up before him.

He recognized all of the four men in front of him as people from his and Matt's squad. They were dressed in the all too familiar military uniform.

One of the bigger men stepped forward, nearly whacking his head on the dangling light bulb.

"Charles Whitman," Sam smirked. Charles was one of the big brutes that was unstable and nobody messed with back in the army. He and Matt always called him "Crazy Charlie" behind his back.

Glancing at the rest of the men, Sam could only recall first names. Benjamin on the left and David next to him. But at the end of the line was Cameron Frate, looking less sure of himself than the others. He kept shifting his feet and refused to meet Sam's eyes.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback:<strong>_

_The world around them appeared to be on fire. _

_Bombs dropped everywhere; the sound deafening. The smoke seemed to penetrate every pore in their bodies._

_Sam couldn't hear, but he felt the blood pounding in his ears as he ran and took cover as another bomb dropped; shrapnel exploding everywhere. A piece hit him just above his eyebrow and there was a stinging sensation as blood coursed down his face. _

_He swiped his blood out of his eye furiously and looked around, seeing if he could place any of his men through the smoke. _

_Somehow, Sam heard a strangled cry come from his left. He spun around to find one of his men, Cameron Frate, being dragged off by some native with a gun, presumably being taken hostage. Sam assumed Cameron was unconscious since he wasn't fighting back. _

_Sam took off running, a bit disoriented at first, dodging flying debris. He was wary of other bombs as well. _

_Frate's captor looked up and, seeing Sam fleeing after him, paused and raised his gun, straight at Sam._

_But Sam was faster. He got his gun out and shot the guy, clear through the eye. He flopped to the ground, spraying blood and dropping the unconscious Cameron on the ground. _

_Sam hurried over to him, just as Frate was coming to._

_He knelt down beside him. "Easy buddy, you're going to be alright." _

_He noticed Frate was bleeding heavily from the arm and quickly tied a tourniquet around I before hoisting him over his shoulder. _

_Breathless, Sam paused behind a boulder. He placed Frate on his feet._

"_You…You saved my life," Cameron gasped, staring at Sam. _

_Sam ignored him, seeing a shadow approaching and quickly raised his gun. _

"_Easy, killer." Matt's silhouette appeared out of the gloom. "Ready to get out of here?" he asked._

_Sam looked at Cameron "Can you run?"_

_Cameron nodded, a little woozy. "I'll keep up." _

"_Good. Let's go." _

_Matt led the way, Cameron following close behind. Sam brought up the rear. _

_Since that attack, the three of them became inseparable._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Present Day:<strong>_

Sam blinked, the memory fading away.

He became aware that Charlie was approaching closer.

Charlie took Sam's free hand and jerked it roughly behind his back. Sam felt his shoulder pop, a shooting pain running all the way down his arm to his already smarting wrist. He refused to let out a cry of pain; refusing to give these men the satisfaction.

Sam sat there as his other hand was handcuffed behind him and then as a gag was placed over his mouth. He had bitten Charlie's hand which had earned him a punch to the mouth, and Sam could feel blood dripping through the gag.

Sam noticed Ben and David held their guns pointed straight at him. He felt his breath hitch in his throat and he had to suppress a bout of nausea.

He all of a sudden feared he was going to die.

Sam tried to get Cameron to meet his gaze, but his eyes remained rooted on the cold cement floor.

Sam struggled to his feet just as Nathan came down the stairs.

Nathan gave Sam a quick glance. "He secured?"

"Yes sir," Charlie boomed in his deep voice. "All taken care of."

Nate turned back to Sam with a malicious smile.

"Perfect."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next chapter is already in the works. Let me know what you thought of this one. <strong>_

_**xoxo  
>Janelle <strong>_


	7. Torture Chamber

_**Here it is, as promised.**_

* * *

><p>"Where do we go from here Sarge?" Jules demanded. This was taking too long. They needed to find Sam <strong>now. <strong>

She just wanted to hold him, safe, in her arms. She wanted to make sure he was okay and make sure nothing bad ever happened to him again. She wanted to tell him she loved him more than she's ever loved anyone before and wants to spend the rest of her life with him…

She allowed one tear to fall before brushing it away furiously, before the guys could see.

"I have Spike looking up everything he can on Nathan Holloway," Greg said, placing a reassuring hand on her arm.

Greg knew the members of his team well; they were practically a family. And he could tell Jules was barely hanging in there. But they were getting so close. They couldn't rush things now. They had to focus and put all the pieces together and then nail this guy for messing with the Team 1 family.

"Spike? How's it going?" Greg asked, clearing his throat and speaking into his headset to Spike who was in the van. He and Jules were standing outside the van, waiting for Wordy and Ed to meet up with them.

"Well…his record is relatively clean, Boss. He doesn't appear to have any criminal charges, but if he does, they are well hidden because I couldn't even find any trace of them. He went off the radar shortly after Matt's death, to "cope with his grief" according to one newspaper article. I don't have much," Spike said, shaking his head sadly.

Greg nodded as Ed and Wordy pulled in, jumping out of the car to meet with them.

"You're doing great, Spike, keep up the good work," Greg said, but inside he was struggling to keep a brave face. He turned around and kicked one of the vans tires. It didn't really make him feel any better and gave him an ache in his toe, but he had to do _something._

"I'm trying to look for an address now. It appears that until recently he had moved to Louisiana shortly after Matt's death. There is no record of him coming back, but if there is something, believe me, I'll find it."

Greg cocked his head to the side as Ed approached, followed closely by Wordy.

"Oh, I know that look," Ed said. "What are you thinking, Boss?"

Jules and the rest of the team turned to look at him.

Greg continued thinking for a few more minutes and then hit the button on his headset so Spike could listen in.

"I was thinking; at least until Spike can pull up some more information, we can call back the phone number and talk, see if we can trace the call again, or at least get some information. Let's see if we can contact Mr. Nathan Holloway."

* * *

><p>Sam was beaten, bloodied, and barely conscious when he heard a sharp ring tone penetrate his leaden ears.<p>

For what seemed like hours, Sam had been slowly tortured on Nathan's orders. Most of the torturing was done by Nathan himself, but Charlie joined in as well. Ben and David still stood with their guns at the ready, lest Sam try to fight back. Cameron backed into a corner of the room, trying not to be noticed, wanting no part in this.

Sam understood why Nathan was upset. Sam still to this day had nightmares about killing his best friend. He constantly beat himself up over it, and he could never make up for it, though he would keep trying. But, Sam did not want to die at the hands of this man.

Nathan had tried all sorts of sick kinds of torture. Sam recognized a lot of them as ones used in the army as well.

Sam had been beat, first by their fists, and then it gradually got worse and worse. They hit him with anything they could find in the basement. Anything from the butt end of hand guns to the chair that Cameron sat on.

They had left the gag on him, so even though he was crying out in pain, it was muffled. They seemed to enjoy it.

There was so much blood gushing from his head, he could barely see as it dripped into his eyes and mouth. He had the constant taste of metallic blood on his lips.

He couldn't breathe well, with the gag, as well as one of the times he was hit with something; he felt a few ribs snap.

They were just prepping for their next round when the phone interrupted.

Sam managed to muster up enough energy to lift his battered head up to watch as Cameron tossed his phone to Nathan.

Nathan motioned for everyone to be silent before flipping open the cell phone.

"Hello?"

* * *

><p>Greg looked up at the rest of the team, a gleam of excitement in his eye and nodded.<p>

"Hello, this is Sergeant Gregory Parker, with the SRU police team. Can I ask who I am speaking to?"

* * *

><p>"Sergeant Gregory Parker, huh?" Nathan scoffed, glancing at Sam for any reaction, just looking for a reason to harm him again.<p>

Sam's neck went limp and he let his head hang down. Team 1 was his only shot of getting out of here alive and he couldn't even call out, let them know he was okay. He was absolutely useless. And if Team 1 knew where he was, they would have been there by now. Sam felt his body sag as he gave up hope.

Nathan looked away from the sorry excuse of a man Sam was and walked over to one of the basement walls.

Sam hadn't noticed before but it was full of surveillance type photos of mostly him, but a lot of Team 1 as well. There were bulleted lists of information on how they each related to Sam. There were also lists of schedules for each of them. It explained how Nathan and his thugs knew just when to grab Sam, although they couldn't have known Jules wasn't going to be out there with him to put up a fight.

"Yeah, I know you," Nathan said, tapping his knuckles on a blown up shot of Greg's face. "Why are you calling?"

It was so silent in the basement that Sam could hear every word of the conversation.

"_Can I know who I'm speaking to? Are you Nathan Holloway, sir?" _

Nathan pulled the phone away from his ear and glared around the room, as if searching for hidden cameras watching him.

"_Judging by the silence, I'm going to assume that was a yes. Nathan, I just want to talk. Can we do that?" _

Nathan stonily put the phone back up to his ear. "Sure, _Greg_, let's talk."

Just hearing Greg's voice over the phone gave Sam a renewed strength and resolve to survive. Sam raised his head and followed Nathan with his eyes as he paced around the confined space.

"_Great, thank you. So I understand you have one of my men. I'm really not okay with that, Nathan."_

"Well I wasn't okay with him murdering my son!" Nathan's voice rose and he kicked some of the junk in the basement aside, making a loud clang. He silently cursed himself for revealing too much, but this cop already knew his name, so he assumed they had plenty of other information on him and it didn't matter anymore. This was ending. Today.

"_I understand why you feel this way, Nathan. But there's no need to be hostile, okay? Now, I want to ask you something." _

"And what makes you think that you have the right to ask me any questions?" Nathan snapped.

"_Well, Nathan, I just want to ask about Sam." _

Sam's ears perked up at his name and Nathan slowly pivoted until he was looking Sam in the eye.

"_Is Sam okay? How is he doing?" _

"Oh, Sam's doing just fine. But he won't be for much longer," Nathan said, with an eyebrow raised and a sickening smirk.

_This guy has lost it, _Sam thought to himself.

"_Can you put him on the line? Just so I can make sure he really is okay. Then we can talk some more about what we are going to do. Does that sound okay?" _

"You want to talk to him, eh?" Nathan swiftly crossed the small space until he was kneeling in front of Sam. He ripped off the gag that was on his mouth and Sam winced as he felt layers of skin rip away.

Sam tried to talk, but only managed to cough up blood, narrowly missing Nathan's face.

Nathan hand motioned for Charlie who came forward with a huge pitcher of water in one hand and a towel in the other.

Nathan handed the phone to Cameron who put it on speaker phone as instructed. Sam could see that Cameron's hand was shaking.

Nathan snatched the towel from Charlie's hand and Sam felt rough hands jerk his neck back. Sam tried to struggle, but it only earned him a kick to the already broken ribs and he couldn't breathe for a second. He gasped for air like a fish out of water.

No sooner had he managed to catch his breath then the towel was being roughly placed over his face. Before he could wonder what was going on, cold water was being poured all over his face and he found he couldn't breathe.

There was water going in his nose and mouth and he couldn't call out, couldn't breathe. All he could do was make a sad gurgling sound. He kicked his legs out since they weren't secured, more as a reaction then actually thinking he would hit somebody.

But he made a connection and he heard a grunt and a crash. Then the water stopped, and Sam gulped in air, but it wasn't enough and it burned going down. Without warning, the water began pouring again and he began to choke once more.

Someone grabbed his leg and jerked it one way and he felt something pop in his knee and then neither one of his legs could move anymore.

Sam was left to wonder if he was going to be alive in the next few minutes. And if he wasn't then this was a hell of a way to die.

_Please let them have a trace on this call. Please, please, please,_ Sam thought before he let himself succumb to the darkness.


	8. Up in Flames

"Can you put him on the line? Just so I can make sure he really is okay. Then we can talk some more about what we are going to do. Does that sound okay?" Greg asked.

Spike came out of the van. "I've got a lock on their position. It was within the ten mile radius," he said breathlessly, and then dove back in the van.

Ed and Wordy had already taken off running to get in their van. Greg and Jules were about to hop in with Spike when a horrible gurgling sounds came penetrating through the phone.

Jules eyes widened and for a moment she couldn't breathe. She knew in her heart that that was Sam. That they were torturing him and possibly killing him and she could hear it all.

She turned away, fell on her hands and knees and proceeded to vomit in some neighboring bushes. She refused to get up and she continued to dry heave until she felt Greg's hand on her shoulder.

Before she knew it, she was on her feet again, Greg's voice bringing her back to the present, repelling the rush of blood through her ears.

"I-Sarge, I'm sorry…I just…" For some reason, she couldn't form a complete sentence.

"I know," Greg said simply, and Jules noticed he was a little pale himself.

He held up the cell phone so she could see the connection was lost. She assumed Nathan had hung up. And somehow not knowing whether or not Sam was still alive was worse than listening to him getting tortured over the phone.

"Let's go," Greg said, taking charge once again. It was getting harder and harder to stay objective. But they were so close to saving their Sam.

"Let's move, move, move!" Greg commanded once he and Jules were safely inside the van. He peeled out of the parking lot and sped with his sirens on, following the GPS route Spike had provided.

"Spike, can you tell us anything about where we are heading?" Wordy's voice crackled over the headset.

Jules was sitting with her head between her knees, trying to block all unwanted thoughts and pictures that her mind was conjuring up.

Spike tore his eyes away from Jules and back up to the computer screen before him. "Well, the reason I couldn't find an address for Nathan is because he still officially lives in Louisiana. He just came back for a little visit it seems."

"So the place we are headed to…"

"It belongs to a man named Charles Whitman."

"Let me guess, another man from the military with Sam and Matt," Wordy guessed.

"Bingo."

"How many men do you think we are dealing with here?" Ed wondered out loud. He was already trying to make up a plan for when they arrived at the house. There would be no time to waste once they got there. They had to react immediately.

"Well, for sure, there's Nathan Holloway, Cameron Frate, and Charles Whitman. But other than that, we don't really know. My guess is there is more, though," Spike said, giving a quick recap. "We should be ready for anything.

"Good call, Spike," Greg said. "Alright guys, get ready. We are closing in on our position. Let's get in there and bring our boy home."

* * *

><p>Nathan quickly hung up the phone and roughly tossed it back to Cameron, who fumbled with it for a few minutes and then finally was able to get a handle on it enough to slip it back in his pocket.<p>

"Shit," Nathan said. "How long does it take to trace a phone call?"

"Not long at all," Ben piped up. "They are probably on their way right now."

"Shit," Nathan exclaimed again. He knew he had been taking a gamble even answering that phone call, but it was just too good to give those brats on Team 1 something to remember Sam by. Because they wouldn't be seeing him alive again.

"Cameron, get over here," Nathan barked.

Sam was just regaining consciousness. He was actually surprised that he wasn't dead. He never wanted to go through anything like that ever again.

Before he knew it, Cameron was in front of him, with a handgun.

"Kill him," Nathan commanded.

Sam watched as Cameron's eyes went wide and he wheeled around to look at Nathan. "But-,"

"But what?" Nathan said, pushing Cameron forward. "You wanted to defend Matt, you better do this."

Cameron turned back around and finally met Sam's eyes for the first time.

Within that one glance, a thousand memories were shared. They both remembered when they had been close, not too long ago.

With that, Cameron lowered the gun.

Before he could even say anything, Cameron's head was blown into smithereens.

Sam gasped as the blood and remains of the man who had just saved his life flew over him. Cameron's body flopped to the floor in front of him, blood still dripping from where his head used to be.

Sam tore his eyes away from Cameron's now limp body to find Nathan holding a smoking gun.

"Always knew he was weak," Nathan muttered. "Sniveling idiot."

Sam saw red and rage tore through his body. But there was nothing he could do, no amount of struggling or fighting would bring Cameron back.

Now there was another death Sam would have to carry around; he mentally added it to the weight on his back.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," Charlie said, his voice urgent.

They all stopped to listen and heard a couple of cars pull up.

"Plan B," Nathan quickly decided and the acrid smell of gasoline filled Sam's nostrils.

The rest of the group filed up the rickety basement stairs. Nathan turned at the top and sneered down at Sam.

"This is for Matty," he said, and flicked open a lighter.

Sam watched as his only means of escape literally went up in flames.

* * *

><p>Team 1 sped onto the scene; their trucks barely stopping before they launched themselves out, into action.<p>

They were about to charge into the house when it burst into flames.

Jules watched in horror. "Sam!" she cried, collapsing on her knees.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Was Team 1 too late? Is there still hope for Sam? Let me know what you guys think! <em>**


	9. Too Late

Jules was frozen with shock. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see, she couldn't hear.

They were too late.

She felt her heartbeat in her ears, the blood rushing to her head. Everything around her was moving in slow motion.

She felt rough arms yanking her to her feet. She swayed and fought the urge to pass out.

"What's that?" Ed called out. To Jules' ears, his voice sounded muffled, but she knew it was just her. She tried counting to ten.

Across the yard, the team turned to look as shadows sprinted from what apparently was a back door to the house. They noticed army fatigues and two of the men holding rifles. There were four of them in all, streaking across the yard, trying to escape to the woods.

"Ed, Wordy, Spike. Don't let them escape," Greg commanded in a harsh voice.

"Already on it, Boss," Ed confirmed, and the three team members took off running. They burst through the trees after the criminals.

"Alright Jules," Greg turned to her, trying to speak in a soothing voice. Jules recognized it as the tone he used to talk down victims when they were on call. For some reason, she couldn't stand the sound of it right now.

"We are going to wait for the fire department to get here before we do anything else. I already called them; they should be here in five minutes, tops…" Greg was saying, but Jules was barely listening.

Without her meaning to, her feet were already carrying her towards the fiery inferno. She quickly picked up speed.

It took Greg a moment to realize Jules' intentions. "Jules! Get back here! There's nothing you can do!" he exclaimed, taking off after her.

But she was younger and admittedly more fit than he was, plus she had a head start. There was no way he was going to be able to catch up to her. She was a woman on a mission. Still Greg kept running after her, while yelling for the fire department to hurry up and get there already.

Jules went to go in the front door, but saw that it would be impossible. The flames were already licking the path that led up to the front door.

She thought quickly, never slowing down. She could hear Greg blundering around behind her. She recalled the four men bursting out from somewhere in the back and she veered right, heading for the backyard.

The door back there was already open, smoke billowing out in large, thick clouds.

Jules didn't even hesitate before taking a deep breath and hurtled through the open door.

It was eerily quiet inside the house; no fire alarms or anything. Just the sound of the fire slowly breaking down the house. It creaked and groaned and debris fell down from the ceiling.

Jules couldn't see; the smoke was too thick. She dropped down to her knees to try and get her bearings. She could barely stop coughing and her lungs were on fire.

But she wasn't stopping until she brought Sam out safely.

Jules could no longer hear Greg, and she wasn't entirely sure if he had followed her into the house or not. Secretly, she hoped so because in her weakened condition, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to carry Sam out by herself.

She thought she heard the squealing of the sirens in the distance. But close. Were they outside?

On her hands and knees, Jules thought she saw another open doorway through the dark smoke.

She jumped up, remembering that they suspected that Sam was in a basement of some kind. She blindly made her way to where she thought the door was.

She found it, more by feeling than seeing. The flame and heat was stronger around the basement door than anywhere else. If she had to bet, the fire had originated down there. It confirmed her suspicions that Sam was down there.

"Sam!" she called out. She tripped and tried to regain her footing. She grabbed on to the railing leading down to the basement and her hand was seared. The metal railing was _hot._ Already, Jules could see the skin on her hand bubbling.

She gulped, ignoring the pain. She became refocused once again.

She was trying to make her way down the stairs, but they were loose and falling apart. There was also a wall of flames at the bottom.

She delicately danced around them and finally got her footing on the hard cement floor.

If she thought visibility was bad on the first floor, it was nothing compared to what was happening in the basement.

Fire surrounded her on all sides; the smoke intolerable.

Jules thought about this morning; Sam's caring face staring up at her as she held the pregnancy test behind her back. If they both made it out of here alive, she would tell him as soon as possible.

"Sam," Jules croaked. She could feel herself tiring in increments. Where was the freaking fire department?

Jules saw some windows up nearer to the ceiling. They overlooked the front yard and since they were in the basement, all she could see was grass. She made her way over, climbing on top of some table and used the butt of her gun to break as many windows as she could to let some smoke out.

She stuck her face out, gulping in some good air, but it only made her cough more.

She whipped around, jumping off the table as the flames started climbing up it. She was never so grateful for their heavy duty uniform boots.

She heard a clanking towards her left and she thought she heard someone faintly calling her name. Or was that just her imagination? What if Sam wasn't down here after all and she had stupidly rushed into this fire? She started silently cursing herself.

She dropped down to her hands and knees again and the smell of gasoline on the floor was incredible. She crawled towards the noises she had thought she heard.

There was too much smoke that she could have gone right past Sam had she not crawled straight into him. In fact, she had whacked her wrist on his boot.

She squealed with delight and relief, or as much as she could manage with her raw throat.

She peered through the gloom to try and focus on his face. It was soot stained and he didn't seem to be doing too well. His eyes weren't focusing too well and he was barely conscious. She wasn't sure if he even knew she was there with him at that moment.

"Hold on Sam. I'm going to get you out of here," she promised. She would have cried if she had any energy left in her.

She noticed that one of his hands was handcuffed to the pipe behind him; she realized that was the clanking she had heard.

She looked around for something she could use to cut the handcuffs off, but she found nothing. The fire was inching closer. Soon there would be no way out of the basement.

The fire had seemed to weaken Sam's bonds, but only slightly.

Jules tore at them, crying out with frustration. Eventually she had worn herself out too much and she collapsed in Sam's lap.

She passed out, accepting the fact that they were going to die. But at least they were going to die together.

* * *

><p><em><strong>So clearly guys, this story is drawing to a close rather soon. I'm glad you've enjoyed it thus far. And I might have another chapter or two in me, just as a heads up. Your support has been great. <strong>_

_**xoxo  
>Janelle<strong>_


	10. Out of the Fire

Jules awoke on her back, staring up at the darkening cloudless sky. She realized she was moving and looked down at her side to see she was on a stretcher. She saw two paramedics on either side of her, moving her quickly. She had an oxygen mask over her mouth.

Being the stubborn woman that she was, she reached up to her face and ripped off the mask. Her arm was surprisingly weak and she let it fall back down to her side. She tried to speak, but it sent her into a coughing fit. She began to flail her arms because she couldn't breathe.

"She's conscious," Jules heard, although she wasn't entirely sure who said it.

Instantly, two pairs of hands were there, tending to her needs. The oxygen mask was replaced, much to her dismay, but she reveled in the easy ability to breathe once it was secure.

The paramedics kept wheeling her stretcher along and Jules tried to concentrate, but with difficulty, on what had just happened. For some reason, her memory was going a little scarce…

All of a sudden it came back to her and she forced herself up, practically leaping up from the stretcher. She caused the two paramedics to jump back, not expecting her to be so lively after just being pulled from a burning building.

"Sam! Sam, where are you?" she screamed, frantic and inconsolable.

She remembered. The team pulled up just as the house before them burst into flames. Sam was inside, and she had rushed in there, trying to save him. But she couldn't get the handcuffs off…and….and….

"Sam!" The anguish and grief in her voice caused many people to avoid her gaze.

She looked up at the remnants of the house.

The fire department had arrived and apparently quieted the fire with ease. But they had taken too long and most of the house was a blackened, charred mess. It was collapsing in some parts and the whole thing was a loss it seemed.

From her angle, Jules could even see the windows she had broken in the basement. The remains of the front door gaped open like a mouth.

Jules went to get up, despite the protests of the paramedics at her side. They would have to restrain her before she would stop what she was doing.

She needed to see Sam. She didn't even know if he was ali-.

She choked back a sob as she considered the possibility that Sam didn't make it out after all.

She made to get up again, but there were strong hands at her sides, pinning her in place. She raised her gaze to find Greg there with her.

Jules shrank back, expecting a reprimand at rushing into the burning house, but all Greg did was pull her into his arms for a long hug.

Greg had been terrified of losing two team members that day, especially Jules, who he often thought of as the daughter he never had.

For a long time, neither one of them said anything and Jules held on tight, needing to feel secure. Then she began to squirm, recalling everything.

"Sam, Sam, where is he?" she gasped, pulling down the oxygen mask again. Her voice sounded raspy and so unlike her own. What she wouldn't give for a glass of water right now.

"Jules…" Greg began in his placating tone again, but Jules shook her head. She would have none of that. She needed some straight answers and she would expect anything less.

It was at that particular moment that the rest of Team 1 burst through the trees, each leading a man in handcuffs.

Ed came first, leading Nathan, pushing him roughly. Wordy followed securing Charlie who looked bloodied. Obviously he had put up quite a fight. Spike was in charge of two other men in army dress. The rifles were nowhere to be seen.

They were headed towards a bunch of the waiting police cars to take them to prison, undeniably for a long time.

Jules saw red and a fury so strong ripped through her. Nothing could stop her as she ran, like a bullet and a mad woman towards Nathan at the head of the line.

Ed, not expecting Jules to come barreling towards them, stumbled to the side when she finally collided with them. Jules and Nathan hit the ground, hard, but Jules would not let up as she punched, kicked, and scratched as if her life depended on it. Ed had never seen her this way; Jules was usually so composed. So it took him a few extra minutes to be able to pry Jules off of the now bloodied Nathan. Not that Ed minded seeing Nathan get what he deserved.

Ed grabbed on to Jules and held her tight, signaling for another officer to take Nathan away. He held Jules and brushed her hair back, trying to calm her down. This was hard on all of them, but it seemed like Jules had finally reached her breaking point.

Ed had heard through the headset that Jules had rushed into the building to save Sam, and honestly, it didn't really surprise him. But now she needed to relax and get checked out by the medical personnel.

He saw Sarge by one of the neighboring ambulances, laying into a pair of EMTs. He tried to lead Jules that way, but she would have none of it.

She gazed up at him with tears pooling in her eyes with the unspoken question hanging between them. _Where is Sam? _

Suddenly, a flurry of movement from the house caught both of their attention.

A bunch of medical personnel burst out of the house, a harried movement of white uniforms and in the middle of all the chaos was a gurney with none other than their kidnapped team member on it.

Ed tightened his arms around Jules to keep her from running towards Sam; the EMTs had a job to do and they needn't interfere. But Jules did fight like a son of a gun. She screamed his name, but Sam didn't respond.

The EMTs were a blur of motion and medical talk as they rushed by. One of them was preparing the hospital as they rushed Sam into the back one of the waiting ambulances.

Jules watched in horror as they hooked him up to a million machines. She froze and Ed slackened his grip. This didn't look like her Sam. He looked…broken, lost.

"He's flat lining!" someone called out and Jules all but sank to the ground.

"No…" she whispered, placing her burnt hand over her mouth.

All of a sudden, the EMTs slammed the back of the ambulance shut and sped off, working furiously to restart Sam's heart.

Jules freaked out. Not knowing was the hardest.

"We have to get to the hospital. We have to save him! What are we still doing here? Come one guys!" But no one was moving and it made her even more frantic.

A paramedic appeared at her side with a needle, but she didn't notice until the syringe was sticking out of her arm. Immediately she started swaying on her feet. She looked accusingly at Greg and Ed.

"We'll meet you at the hospital Jules," Greg said, placing a hand over her good one, but Jules didn't feel it, her head was swimming.

She reached out blindly, not wanting to be alone.

She was lifted off her feet and she struggled to keep her eyes open. Once again she was enveloped in darkness before she hit the back of the ambulance.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Seems like they aren't out of the woods yet. Off to the hospital. Let's see if Sammy survived. <strong>_


	11. Together

_**This will be the last full chapter and then there will be a short epilogue after that. And that's it for this story! Thank you for following me on another journey. All the reviews and followers…you all mean a lot. Hope you enjoy the end! **_

_**xoxo  
>Janelle<strong>_

* * *

><p>Jules was outside of Sam's room, pacing, waiting to be let in. The rest of Team 1 was sitting in various different positions in the hallway with her. They were all exhausted and were waiting for news on Sam, but Jules was the only one who couldn't seem to sit still.<p>

Jules had woken up in a gurney at the hospital in a hallway, a doctor hovering over her and Ed leaning against the wall off to the side.

The doctor had thoroughly checked her out while she kept sighing impatiently, insisting that she was fine and that she just wanted to go see Sam.

Sure enough, the doctor proclaimed a few moments later that Jules hadn't suffered much more than smoke inhalation and a pretty serious burn on her hand. He quickly treated the burn with some cooling ointment and wrapped it in gauze and went off to treat another patient.

Ed hadn't been able to keep Jules occupied much longer and after buying her a coffee, he proceeded to bring her to where the rest of Team 1 was waiting in the waiting room.

The doors to the ER flew open, letting in a cool breeze from outside as well as Sam's sister, Natalie. She was frantic, much as Jules had been earlier.

"Is he okay? Where is he? How is he doing?" she demanded, a cloud of her perfume nearly choking Jules who was having trouble breathing anyway.

Greg managed to calm her down and tell her that they didn't in fact know anything yet, but they should soon enough. She spent the rest of the time waiting enveloped in Spike's arms.

A doctor came out to tell them the extent of Sam's injuries. He was pretty beat up. He had a lot of water in his lungs that had to be drained out. They took a beating as well from all the smoke inhalation. He had been hit a couple of times in the head by heavy objects and so they were watching him for a concussion or possible brain bleed. His wrist was severely sprained and his shoulder was going to require a lot of work because it had been popped out of its socket. There were a few broken ribs on either side of his body that would take a while to heal. He also had cuts and burns all over his body.

But he was alive.

And it looked like he was going to stay that way, for a long time to come.

Jules couldn't stop the flow of tears that leaked from her eyes. Now she was sure that Sam was okay. That he had survived and she wouldn't have to say goodbye.

Natalie had buried her face in Spike's chest as the doctor had started listing all the injuries. She never had been good at dealing with Sam's line of work. She never liked seeing her brother get hurt.

"Right now, Sam is unconscious from the meds we gave him; his body needs time to heal. But he should be waking up soon. You guys can go in, one at a time, please," the doctor finished.

Jules and Natalie jumped up at the same time, but Jules graciously took her seat again. She had waited this long to see Sam and she could wait a little longer now that she was sure he was okay. Besides, Natalie was family; she deserved to go in first.

"If you need anything, please, don't hesitate to call," the doctor said before turning on his heel and walking away.

Which is how they came to be right now, sitting outside of Sam's room, waiting on Natalie so they could all take their turns to see Sam, safe, once and for all.

"Anyone want more coffee?" Jules said, pausing in her pacing.

Wordy sloshed around his still half full cup. "No thanks, Jules. Besides, I don't think you need anymore; you're already pretty hyped up."

This caused a chuckle to be emitted around the group which was cut short by the door to Sam's room opening.

Jules jumped back to avoid getting hit; she had been standing that close.

Natalie came out, her face tear stained, but she was smiling. Her eyes found Jules'. "He's asking for you," she said, and stepped aside to let her through.

Jules walked into the room, hesitantly. It was brighter in the hallway and she gave herself a moment to let her eyes adjust. She quietly shut the door behind her, grateful for the privacy it provided.

She turned around and fixed her eyes on Sam, leaning up in the bed.

"Hey you," Sam said, eyes glistening at the sight of the love of his life.

Jules strode over to the bed and placed her head on his lap, dissolving into tears.

Sam placed the hand that wasn't in a wrap or sling on the back of her head and slowly stroked her hair. He knew she loved that; it was often how he got her to sleep after a particularly hard day at work.

Eventually, Jules calmed down enough to look Sam over.

"I thought I was never going to see you again," Jules said honestly, as Sam reached out his hand to brush the tears away from her face. She grabbed his hand in hers and brought it to her lips.

They leaned close to each other, their lips only inches apart before they came together. It was a sweet, passion filled kiss, filled with all the pain and fear that had experienced, as well as the gratefulness that they were together again.

They broke the kiss simultaneously, breathless.

"I love you, Jules," Sam breathed, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"I love you," she replied, no ounce of hesitation. This was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Which reminded her…

"I have to tell you something," she blurted, not one for smoothness.

Sam opened his mouth to ask if it could wait, but he realized, it couldn't. After this whole ordeal, neither one of them would wait ever again. They would live in the moment; never knowing when it was going to be their last.

Sam nodded, giving her the chance to speak, noticing that she was uncomfortable.

"Remember this morning, in the bathroom?" she asked slowly.

Sam thought. Had it only been this morning? He recalled Jules sitting on the toilet seat, cranky and a worried look on her face. He cocked his head to the side. "Yeah, what was up?" he asked, serious.

"Well…I had just taken….a pregnancy test." She paused, letting this sink in.

Sam blinked his deep blue eyes up at her, wide eyed, mouth open. "And?" he managed to stutter out.

"It was negative," she rushed to finish, realizing that she was digging herself farther into a whole. "I'm not pregnant."

Jules thought she saw disappointment flash through Sam's eyes for a moment, but then it was gone. "Well, ah…thanks for telling me," he told her.

Jules was confused. She hadn't expected this kind of reaction from him. "Did you want me to be pregnant?" she asked, flustered.

"Oh, I don't know. I think it would be nice," Sam said, surprising himself. "I do want to start a family with you Jules." It was the truth. After everything he had just been through, he really had a chance to redress everything in his life. And he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jules and start a family…soon.

"Well, if I was pregnant, I couldn't be rushing into burning buildings, saving your life," she pointed out, teasing. Considering she hadn't saved anyone's life and just put her in more danger, worrying everyone else.

Sam reached out and pulled Jules to him again, holding her close. He was glad to be alive, to be able to do just this.

He and Jules had a lot to discuss. He wanted to tell her all about what had happened to him. They had to talk about having a child and about their future.

But right now, they would lie, entwined with each other for as long as they wanted. They fell asleep, just like that, holding on to each other.


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue: **

Sam paced back and forth outside the closed bathroom door, a ball of nervous energy.

Every few moments he would stop pacing and go to knock on the door. "Everything okay in there?" he asked for the millionth time.

This time Jules jerked open the bathroom door and he almost fell on top of her. "Geez Sam, I was just _peeing_," she said, a trace of annoyance in her tone, but she smiled and it was all okay.

She opened the door wider and allowed him to finally come in. The bathroom was small and with no room to pace, Sam resorted to leaning against the wall. Jules was perched on the closed toilet seat cover.

She had a strange sense of déjà vu. It was 5 months ago that Sam had gotten kidnapped and saved and 5 months since that morning Jules had taken a pregnancy test. That one had been negative.

This time, they were _both_ hoping for another result.

Jules held the stick in her hands. She clenched them together to disguise the fact that they were trembling slightly.

"I'm…afraid to look," she admitted, gazing up at Sam.

Sam got up and knelt down in front of her, taking her face in his hands just like he did that day 5 months ago.

"Whatever happens," he said, "I will always love you. And I will always be right here by your side."

A small smile slowly spread its way across her face. She didn't know why, but she felt like she had needed reassuring. "Thanks Sam," she said, already feeling a lot better. "I love you too."

She worked up the nerve to finally look at the test and she hurriedly turned it around for Sam to see as well.

It was positive.

_**The End**_


End file.
